Lions roar in 70th annual Big Bone game

By Kevin Sparrer, for Silicon Valley Community Newspapers

Posted:
11/29/2012 08:05:29 PM PST

How many consecutive wins does a team need in a rivalry before it's considered a dynasty? How about 15?

Well, if that's the case, the Lincoln football team has certainly created a dynasty in the annual Big Bone Game against San Jose High. The Lions posted their 15th straight victory in the 70-year history of the Thanksgiving Day classic on Nov. 22, and they did it against the best Bulldog team in a long, long time.

With seniors like Jacob Avery, Cristapher Ortez, Christopher Azure and Francisco Cruz leading the way, the Lions were simply dominant, taking the win 55-13.

"It's always a good rivalry and it's a good tradition," said Lincoln head coach Kevin Collins after the game. "We prepare the same way we do for every game. We were nervous early on, and San Jose had a good team."

Avery had eight touches for 162 yards and two scores and also caught a pass. Ortez had four carries for 129 yards and two touchdowns, caught a pass for 18 and was dominant in the defensive secondary.

"Ortez is the smartest free safety I have ever coached," said Collins. "He could play somewhere at the next level, and I know he will get into coaching some day--and when he does, that's when I get out."

Both teams struggled with their first two possessions. Lincoln threw an interception, then San Jose fumbled and Josh Avalos recovered. But the Lions turned around and fumbled themselves. Then the Lincoln defense kicked in and caused the Bulldogs to punt and the Lions never looked back. It took only four plays to go 81 yards, ending with Avery breaking a 43-yard touchdown run and Santiago Huerta kicking the extra point.

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After that Lincoln caught fire, San Jose just couldn't keep up. The Lion defense caused an incomplete pass with pressure from the D-line before Mario Hidalgo sacked the quarterback for a 7-yard loss. The Lions stood firm, allowing a pass for two yards before forcing a punt. This time it took only one play for them to score. Hidalgo took the handoff going right, then handed the ball to Ortez on a reverse thatwent 66 yards for the score. Huerta kicked and the Lions were up 14-0.

"Coach Collins gets us ready," said Ortez. "We prepare for every game like it is the best team we will ever play."

With a lead that could eventually win the game, Lincoln still racked up the points, this time from the defense. Only three plays into a San Jose drive that had so far not passed the original line of scrimmage, Azure picked off a pass and went 21 yards for the touchdown. The kick failed, and the Lions led 20-0.

San Jose fumbled again on its second play, and Regio Herrera picked it up at the 28 and took it all the way down to the 19, but a flag brought it back to the San Jose 27. Izaiah Gonzalez connected with Hidalgo on the first play for the 27-yard touchdown. Huerta was good this time, and the Lions led 27-0 with time left in the first quarter.

The Lincoln defense was still dominant, with Herrera earning a sack for a 5-yard loss, ultimately causing the Bulldogs to punt. Lincoln drove down the field but threw a second interception. Again the defense was strong, though, with Avery earning a sack for a 12-yard loss, causing the Bulldogs to punt. In one play Gonzalez hit Jacob Hoekstra with a 49-yard touchdown pass. Huerta kicked and the score went to 34-0.

Lincoln caused another fumble that Hidalgo fell on, but fumbled three plays into the drive. San Jose took over and was able to get the ball across midfield, but couldn't score before time ran out in the half.

The Bulldogs got the ball again to open the second half, but could only reach the Lincoln 27-yard line before attempting a field goal that failed. Lincoln took over at the 20, and after a 12-yard run on first down by Hidalgo, attempted a screen pass that went right into the hands of the Bulldog linebacker, who ran the ball into the end zone for the first San Jose touchdown. The kick failed, and Lincoln led 34-6.

Again the Lincoln offense was too much for San Jose, and in three plays the Lions went 80 yards. Avery broke a 40-yard run, then Gonzalez took it himself on an option for nine before Ortez scored on a 31-yard run. Huerta kicked again and the lead went to 41-6.

San Jose started to gain a little momentum on offense, earning a first down, but then Francisco Cruz picked off a pass and went 55 yards for the touchdown. Huerta kicked and the lead went to 48-6.

The Bulldogs still couldn't move against the Lion defense with Avery and Francisco Avendano earning sacks on back-to-back plays for a total loss of 12 yards. San Jose punted, and Cruz caught the ball at the Lincoln 46 and ran it all the way back to the San Jose 5-yard line. Avery punched it in in just one play, and after the Huerta kick, Lincoln led 55-6.

San Jose scored on its last possession as the clock ran out for its only offensive touchdown of the game.

"I was on varsity for the Big Bone game my sophomore season, which was a good experience," said Ortez. "Junior year went well, but this year was great. This is a great tradition."

Gonzalez completed 5 of 10 passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Gonzalez completed his passes behind the protection of tackles Dominic Matamoros and Gabriel Rivas, guards Robert Greenhalgh and Brian Perez and center Manuel Florez. Hoekstra caught two passes for 49 and Hidalgo caught one for 27. Hidalgo also ran four times for 33 yards.

Defensively, Cruz had seven stops and a pick six. Herrera had a fumble recovery, a sack and six tackles. Hidalgo earned a pair of sacks, picked up a fumble and had three tackles. Avery had two tackles and a pair of sacks, Ortez had four stops, Avalos had three tackles and a fumble recovery and Raymond Moreno and Angel Islas-Mendez each had four stops.

The Lions finished the year with a 9-1 record overall, but as far as the Big Bone Game is concerned, Lincoln is 39-26-5 in the history of the game.